The Chilling Saga Ends: Where Is Linda Cooney Today After Two High-Profile Shootings?
The case of Linda Cooney remains one of the most sensational and disturbing true crime stories of the last three decades, spanning two states, two separate shootings, and two generations of her own family. As of December 26, 2025, the woman whose life was defined by a 1992 self-defense verdict and a 2011 attempted murder charge has finally reached a definitive legal resolution, leading to a quiet return to private life after years of intense media scrutiny and court battles.
The central question—"Where is Linda Cooney today?"—has a clear answer: She is a free woman, having been released from probation after resolving the final charges related to the 2011 shooting of her son, Kevin Cooney. Her current status is that of a private citizen, living outside the confines of the correctional system, marking the end of a long and complex legal chapter that began in a wealthy Florida enclave and concluded in a Nevada courtroom.
The Complete Biography and Timeline of Linda Cooney's Legal Saga
Linda Cooney's life is inextricably linked to two separate, violent incidents involving a firearm, both of which she claimed were acts of self-defense or accident. The sheer improbability of these events occurring within the same family has cemented her story in true crime history. The following is a detailed profile of the key figures and events in the Cooney case.
- Full Name: Linda Cooney (née Linda Marie Pugh)
- Date of Birth: Approximately 1946 (She was 74 at the time of her final plea, suggesting a birth year around 1946).
- Place of Origin: Midwest, with family ties to a farm in Wisconsin.
- Former Residence: Palm Beach, Florida (1980s-1990s); Las Vegas/Henderson, Nevada (2000s-2020s).
- Ex-Husband: James "Jim" Cooney, a Palm Beach lawyer. (Deceased 1992).
- Son: Kevin Cooney. (Shot in 2011, survived but was paralyzed).
- Daughter: Kristina Cooney.
- First Incident (1992): Shot and killed ex-husband, Jim Cooney, with a .357 caliber Magnum revolver during a custody dispute in Palm Beach, Florida. She was acquitted by a jury on the grounds of self-defense.
- Second Incident (2011): Shot her adult son, Kevin Cooney, in the neck at their home in Henderson, Nevada. The shooting resulted in Kevin’s paralysis.
- Initial Conviction (2014): Found guilty of attempted murder, battery with a deadly weapon, and intimidating a witness in the Kevin Cooney case.
- Conviction Reversed (2017): The Nevada Supreme Court overturned the attempted murder conviction, ruling that the trial court committed reversible error by admitting evidence of the 1992 shooting of Jim Cooney.
- Final Legal Resolution (2020/2021): Linda Cooney pleaded guilty to a gross misdemeanor count of conspiracy to commit a crime, a significant reduction from the felony battery charge. She was sentenced to probation but was immediately released due to credit for time already served in custody.
The Two Shootings: Florida and Nevada
The narrative surrounding Linda Cooney is dominated by the two separate shootings that occurred 19 years apart. The similarities between the incidents—the use of a firearm, the domestic setting, and the subsequent legal drama—are what drew national attention to the case, turning it into a staple of true crime television shows like 48 Hours and Dateline.
The 1992 Palm Beach Incident: Jim Cooney
In 1992, Linda Cooney was involved in a violent confrontation with her ex-husband, Jim Cooney, a prominent Palm Beach, Florida, attorney. The dispute, reportedly over child custody, escalated rapidly. Linda Cooney shot and killed Jim Cooney with a large-caliber handgun. During the trial, she testified that the shooting was an act of self-defense. Despite allegations from investigators that she may have planted a knife in his hand to bolster her claim, a Florida jury ultimately believed her testimony and acquitted her of murder charges. This verdict allowed her to move on with her life, relocating the family, including her son Kevin, to Las Vegas, Nevada, in an attempt to escape the shadow of the Palm Beach tragedy.
The 2011 Henderson Incident: Kevin Cooney
The second shooting, which occurred on June 28, 2011, brought Linda Cooney back into the spotlight. This time, the victim was her own son, Kevin Cooney, who was shot in the neck at the family's Henderson, Nevada, home. The incident reportedly took place during a fight over Kevin's relationship with his girlfriend, Taylor. Kevin Cooney survived the shooting but was left paralyzed.
The legal battle that followed was protracted and complex. Linda Cooney was initially convicted of attempted murder in 2014. However, the Nevada Supreme Court intervened in 2017, reversing the conviction. The court ruled that the admission of evidence from the 1992 shooting of Jim Cooney had prejudiced the jury, preventing a fair trial in the case of Kevin Cooney.
The Final Legal Resolution and Linda Cooney's Current Status
The reversal of the attempted murder conviction by the Nevada Supreme Court was a pivotal moment that fundamentally changed the trajectory of the case. Instead of facing a new trial on the felony charges, the case was resolved through a plea deal that allowed Linda Cooney to avoid further incarceration and a lengthy second trial.
The Gross Misdemeanor Plea
In a final resolution, Linda Cooney, who was 74 years old at the time, was permitted to change her plea from guilty of felony battery to guilty of a gross misdemeanor count of conspiracy to commit a crime. This was a major legal victory for the defense, as a gross misdemeanor is a much less severe charge than a felony. The plea essentially closed the book on the criminal case after nearly a decade of legal proceedings.
Released From Probation
The key to answering "where is Linda Cooney today" lies in the sentencing phase of the plea deal. District Judge Christy Craig sentenced Cooney to probation but, crucially, immediately released her. This immediate release was granted because she was given credit for all the time she had already served in custody while awaiting trial and during the period of her overturned conviction. Therefore, Linda Cooney was officially released from the oversight of the Nevada court system and probation, concluding the criminal aspect of the Kevin Cooney shooting case.
Today, Linda Cooney is a free woman. She is no longer incarcerated, nor is she under the supervision of the probation department. Her life, now in her late 70s, has retreated from the public eye. While the Nevada Appellate Courts website does show a listing for "Cooney (Linda) vs. The State of Nevada" for a future date, this is likely a procedural relic or an appeal on a non-criminal matter, as the central criminal case has been definitively resolved with her release. She is presumed to be living privately, away from the intense media spotlight that followed her across the country for decades, finally finding the anonymity that eluded her during the two most tragic chapters of her life.
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